Award Honors Commitment to the Ideals of American Exceptionalism
Milwaukee, WI – The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation has announced that Senator Phil Gramm, revered public servant, legislator, economist, and professor, is a 2026 Bradley Prize recipient. Sen. Gramm will receive the award at the Bradley Prizes ceremony on Thursday, May 14, 2026, in Washington, D.C.
Now in its 22nd year, the Bradley Prize is awarded to individuals whose extraordinary work exemplifies the Foundation’s mission to restore, strengthen, and protect the principles and institutions of American exceptionalism.
“Sen. Gramm’s illustrious career has been defined by a relentless dedication to promoting economic freedom, so that every American has a path to prosperity,” said Rick Graber, president and CEO of The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation. “He has courageously made the case for free enterprise and fiscal responsibility in the halls of Congress, across the opinion pages of premier publications, and throughout the academy and the public square. The Bradley Foundation is pleased to award a Bradley Prize to Sen. Gramm, whose life’s work embodies the deeply held beliefs of the Bradley brothers.”
As in the past, this year’s award recipients were chosen by the Bradley Prizes Selection Committee, after careful review of over 60 distinguished nominations. Each award carries a stipend of $300,000.
“I am honored to receive a prize from The Bradley Foundation because they are committed to limited government, free enterprise, economic and political freedom and broad-based opportunity,” said Sen. Gramm. “These are the principles that I believe in, taught, defended and practiced.”
Originally an economist by training, Sen. Gramm has had a long and distinguished career in public service, academia and the private sector. Currently a visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), he is working on a comprehensive plan to reform the American economy, including the tax code and entitlement programs, to reduce debt and ultimately secure the United States’ long-term fiscal future.
Sen. Gramm was the vice chairman of UBS Investment Bank, where he provided key leadership in the Visa IPO, the privatization of Telstra, the Australian telecom company, the IPO of the China Ocean Shipping Company and the follow-on offering of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China. He is now Vice Chairman of Lone Star Funds.
He is especially noted for having served in the United States Congress representing Texas for more than two decades, first as the Representative from the 6th Congressional district, and then as Senator. Sen. Gramm’s legislative record includes landmark bills like the Gramm-Latta Budget – which reduced federal spending, rebuilt national defense and mandated the Reagan tax cut – and the Gramm-Rudman Act, which placed the first binding constraints on federal spending. As chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, Sen. Gramm steered legislation to modernize banking, insurance, and securities laws. The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act amended the 70-year-old Glass-Steagall Act, allowing banks, security companies, and insurance companies to affiliate.
Before becoming a member of Congress, Sen. Gramm taught economics at Texas A&M University for 12 years. He built a national reputation as a free-market scholar, publishing numerous articles and books on subjects ranging from private property, monetary theory and policy to the economics of mineral extraction.
